The Czech-born pianist and writer August Stradal (1860–1930) – a student of Bruckner and disciple of Liszt – was one of the more prolific transcribers of the nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries.
He produced a vast quantity of piano music, including Liszt’s orchestral works, most of the Bruckner symphonies, a good deal of the Baroque (not least a huge amount of Bach) and much more.
These transcriptions are phenomenally difficult to play.
This is the first in a series of recordings presents his Wagner transcriptions, cast in the best barnstorming virtuoso tradition.
They are an unusual way of marking the Wagner bicentenary in 2013.
“typically dense and thickly scored, and technically challenging. An enjoyable but tiring listen.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2013 ***
